1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to content protection. More specifically, one embodiment of the invention relates to an apparatus and method for enabling the exchange of information in a secured manner in order to protect digital content being transmitted.
2. General Background
Analog communication systems are rapidly giving way to their digital counterparts. Digital television is currently scheduled to be available nationally. High-definition television (HDTV) broadcasts have already begun in most major cities on a limited basis. Similarly, the explosive growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web have resulted in a correlative growth in the increase of downloadable audio-visual files, such as MP3-formatted audio files, as well as other content.
Simultaneously with, and in part due to this rapid move to digital communications system, there have been significant advances in digital recording devices. Digital versatile disk (DVD) recorders, digital VHS video cassette recorders (D-VHS VCR), CD-ROM recorders (e.g., CD-R and CD-RW), MP3 recording devices, and hard disk-based recording units are but merely representative of the digital recording devices that are capable of producing high quality recordings and copies thereof, without the generational degradation (i.e., increased degradation between successive copies) known in the analog counterparts. The combination of movement towards digital communication systems and digital recording devices poses a concern to content providers such as the motion picture and music industries, who desire to prevent the unauthorized and uncontrolled copying of copyrighted, or otherwise protected, material.
In response, there is a movement to require service providers, such as terrestrial broadcast, cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies, and companies having Internet sites which provide downloadable content, to introduce protection schemes. It is noted that one of the currently proposed schemes involve symmetric key cryptographic techniques to encode components of a compliant device. This allows for the authentication of any digital device prior to transmission of the digital content in order to determine whether the device is compliant.
However, this scheme fails to provide a technique that has universal application and does not impose rigorous key management as normally associated with symmetric key-based systems.